As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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We were there at the end of August and the heat and humidity didn't seem to slow down DS5 at all. When we're at home he usually doesn't do well in the heat and doesn't want to be outside. I guess it was the excitement of being at Disney.
Although one day after being in TS Fay most of the day he was complaining he was cold.
We have been 1 time in August & if Disney called me & said we could have a free trip for going in August, I really think that I would pass! It was SO HOT that it was miserable! Just walking outside made us sweaty & soaking wet...nasty, sticky, sweaty!
Best of luck if you go then. Be prepared for the heat!
Have to agree with the person who said that they wouldn't go in late August unless there was no other option. It is HOT and HUMID beyond belief and feels like you are walking inside of a sponge! On the upside, the crowds are light, since only the schools north of Delaware are not yet back in session. Take high SPF sunscreen along and leave fashion behind as no one can look good when melting into your shoes! Take a trip to the dollar store and stock up on bandanas which you can soak in the water fountains and wrap around your neck or around your head under a baseball cap. Keep an eye out for those vaccume pump misters (I get ours at BJs Wholesale Club), which you can fill with chilled water and spray yourself and everyone else who will line up at the first sight of the welcome things! Sudden downpours are common,especially in the late afternoon/early evening, and can leave the MK inches deep in water, cancelling the fireworks and Spectromagic. Typhoon Lagoon is a very nice spot to visit (as opposed to Blizzard Beach which is all WHITE, with little/no shade and the sun reflects off the scenery and is hot enough to fry anything that touches it- but get there early in the morning, before they fill up and close the gates and then head back to your resort for a shower, nap and dinner.
If you have an option to switch your trip to February, do consider it- that's out favorite time to visit as the temps are great and a welcome change from the endless Northern winter, and only the northern schools have the vacation time (avoid the parks on President's Day, when it fills up with locals- a good day to visit KSC). Let us know what you decide!
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Suzanne, in Rochester,NY
Remember the Magic!
Picture is of DD,Pam, as Constance, in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer
We've been mid to late August twice! It's hot, and humid. But it's hot and humid pretty much anywhere in the US at that point! Drink lots of water, take afternoon breaks, and you'll be fine! Crowds should be lower since most schools start to go back in session!!
We go in August too. I agree with Marnie's advice. Esp the mid day break. And the water parks are fun to go to on a hot day. I'm going back this Aug. & hope a Fay like storm won't come again!
You'll never be able to predict if a hurricane will hit or not. Fay was certainly not a typical storm. We went August 24th-30th and had a FANTASTIC time! It was very very hot, true. But it is that hot everywhere! There were hardly any crowds. Even rides like Splash Mountain had incredibly short waits, and at times they had no waits at all. DFia and I have been talking about a honeymoon. Because the economy is so bad we keep bringing up the idea of Disney, but because we are getting married in the middle of June, we know the waits will be so long and we were just spoiled by our last visit.
My one suggestion is to grab a mister fan when you get down there. You just keep refilling it with ice as the day goes on (free of charge). That will keep you cool and just remember to drink! I don't think we would ever go during a peak season again, but we would definitely do the end of August again
As everyone else has told you - it is hot and humid. But we have learned to get up and out early and do as much as we can before noon. Then we head back to the resort and nap in the air conditioning and swim in the pool. We go back to the parks around 5 - and stay until they close. The parks are open much later in the summer - so we take advantage of that.
Well it sounds like the plan we have for our August (9-15) trip this summer will work the best. It's hot in PA in August so if I'm going to be hot I might as well be hot at WDW. We can only go during the summer as my dd is a teenager and can't miss school. We didn't get park hopper tickets this year so we will head to a park in the am and stay til it's really hot and then head back to Music for nap/swim and go back to park at night. I've been to WDW in June and July so I'm sure I'll survive August. I'm buying a bottle with the built in water filter so we will refill often.
I am doing a August trip this summer (August 4 - 11). It will be the first time I've ever done WDW in the summer. I figure that it is hot and humid here in CT, so at least I'll be used to it. Yes, I know that Florida has a lot more humidity than CT, but the time works well this year for us.